Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russia and China are expanding the range of goods for freight traffic on the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe highway Bridge across the Amur. According to a statement released by the Russian consulate-general in Harbin (the northeastern province of Heilongjiang) on its Telegram channel on Wednesday, the supply of vegetables, fruits and other food products from China will be allowed through the Kani-Kurgan-Heihe checkpoint starting January 30. This became possible after the checkpoint was put on the list of border checkpoints meant for supply of food products to Russia, the diplomatic mission said, adding that respective amendments were made to the Russian government’s decree…

Banks in Argentina are suffering from a shortage of space to store the quickly depreciating national currency banknotes, Bloomberg reported, citing sources in the banking industry. According to the report, Banco Galicia and the local unit of Spain’s Banco Santander have been forced to install additional vaults to store peso bills. Banco Galicia has already added eight vaults for cash storage over the past year to the two it had since 2019, and reportedly plans to set up two more in the coming months. Argentina, which boasts the second biggest economy in South America after Brazil, has been plagued by…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Covert training camps in the Jordanian desert are currently the site of British and American trainers developing young Lebanese men, loyal to the Christian warlord, Samir Geagea, according to chief editor of Al Mariah magazine, Fadi Abu Deya. In an interview given to Al Jadeed TV, Abu Deya claimed Geagea is sending fighters to Jordan for military training which is supported by the US and UK. Gegea’s media office has denied this allegation and has threatened to file a lawsuit against Abu Deya. The militia is allegedly tasked with attacks on Hezbollah, the Lebanese…

Hungary says Brussels should prioritize the issue and secure diversified energy deliveries Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia have requested that the European Commission (EC) allocate funds for infrastructure development that would enable increased shipments of Azerbaijani gas to the EU, Budapest announced on Tuesday. Speaking at a joint news conference with Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto urged Brussels to address the energy-supply issue “as a priority, and provide financial support.” According to the official, the investment being sought is needed to build new facilities and update existing infrastructure, which would provide for increased volumes of Azerbaijani gas…

French sportswear retailer Decathlon is currently searching for buyers for its Russian assets, RBK business daily reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources linked to the country’s large retail chains and consulting companies. Decathlon, which is owned by French retail giant Association Familiale Mulliez, suspended the delivery of goods to the Russian market in late March after the EU imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow. At the end of June, all its outlets across the country, including the online store, were shut down. Decathlon’s parent company became a rare example of a major Western company opting to keep running its business in…

UK workers are demanding a pay raise and better conditions, saying ‘robots are treated better’ Amazon union workers in the UK are striking for the first time ever. They are complaining that their wages are below inflation-linked rates and are describing working conditions as “severe.” Members of the GMB Union working at the retailer’s warehouse in Coventry voted to hold a “historic” industrial action after Amazon offered a 50-pence-per-hour (62 cents) increase in pay last month. The workers have rejected what they called a “derisory” pay rise, demanding instead an increase to £15 ($18.48) per hour. The 24-hour strike began on Wednesday after midnight, with…

A financial aid package aimed at helping German businesses and households deal with the energy crisis will cost the federal government more than €16.6 billion ($18 billion) by the end of May, a document seen by Reuters shows. Berlin is expected to spend some €14.5 billion ($15.75 billion) to set an electricity price cap, and an additional €2.14 billion ($2.33 billion) on subsidizing transmission network costs over the next two months, according to a document signed by Finance State Secretary Florian Toncar, addressed to parliament’s budget committee. The electricity price cap, which is projected to relieve the pressure of skyrocketing…

Less than 9% of companies from the EU and G7 countries that owned subsidiaries in Russia have left the country since the introduction of sanctions last year, research by economists from Switzerland’s University of St. Gallen has found. The study, based on information from OBRIS, a global database containing information on millions of companies, showed that 36,000 international companies, including 3,444 subsidiaries of foreign entities, were operating in Russia as of April 2022, with a total of 2,405 subsidiaries owned by 1,404 EU and G7 companies. The researchers then checked how many of these companies had given up their stakes…

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine will cost Europe’s largest economy €175 billion ($190 billion) this year, which equates to €2,000 per inhabitant, Deutsche Welle reported on Monday, citing a report by the Institute of German Economics (IW). Authors of the study compared the current situation to an imaginary scenario in which there was no military operation in Ukraine or problems related to it, such as skyrocketing energy prices, spiraling inflation and supply disruptions. They calculated that the real loss to the German economy from the conflict in Ukraine will be as high as 4.5% of the GDP next year. The…

The cost of flights in the UK has been soaring at the fastest rate since records began, in a sign that budget travel is coming to an end, Bloomberg reported this week. In December, air fares surged by 44.4% compared with a year earlier in a sharp acceleration from a rate of 24.3% in November. According to the British Office for National Statistics, it was the largest year-on-year increase in air fares since at least 1989. Air carriers say travel demand remains high in the UK in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions even with the cost-of-living crisis and grim economic…